West Sussex sailors win world crown - with day to spare

The event had 66 entries representing seven different nations racing in challenging conditions on the Swan River.

Massey, from Birdham, said: “We prepared really well for this regatta and sailed a fantastic series. Our speed was good, we were tactically strong and had excellent boat handling during the high wind races.

“We knew we were in the mix for the title but to win the championship with three first places and three seconds was an incredible performance.”

“It’s been a stellar event” said Hillary, of Fishbourne. “The Swan River is an iconic place to sail and it didn’t let us down. We had some challenging conditioning with strong winds testing our skills and the structure of the boat.

“We’ve been together as a team for seven years and have invested a huge amount of time and effort into preparing for this event. That paid off in Perth and the regatta came to us despite world-class opposition. Winning the worlds is a special feeling”.

Another Itchenor Sailing Club team of Neale Jones and Ed Fitzgerald finished third. In all ten British teams participated in the event with the Great Britain team also winning the team racing worlds.